The notion of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san’s main relationship is remote enough to my own middle school experience as to be completely incomprehensible. I have no way of knowing what Nishikata is going through here, since this level of familiarity with a girl when I was in 7th grade would have been utterly inconceivable. But it is an interesting question – is he incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky, or is it a little bit of both? Would the average 12-13 year-old rugrat voluntarily trade places with Nishikata, after having viewed his life from the outside?
I think one of the main reasons Nishikata-kun is so fond of “100% Unrequited Love” (and it’s certainly no triumph of insight to notice this) is that it represents the complete opposite of his own romantic life (to what extent he realizes he has one is another question). It’s a romance manga where the male is 100% alpha, in control and the one doing to teasing – wish-fulfilment in its purest form. Even as creepily insightful as she is I’m not sure Takagi-san totally gets this – for her, the whole “100%” gambit is possibly just another pretense to torture Nishikata (and I also believe she thinks it’s silly that he’s so embarrassed about liking it).
Takagi being Takagi, she masterfully manipulates the latest bookstore embarrassment into an even larger one – she manages to get Nishikata to go with her to pick out a swimsuit. This is definitely one of those “would you trade places” scenarios for Nishikata – and I think, on the whole, most boys his age could honestly say they’d rather not be in his shoes. That is embarrassing as hell, having to go to a ladies’ swimwear shop (even if it was with your sister or something, never mind your de facto girlfriend). My favorite part of this comes when Takagi-san says “This may continue until you say I look good” – and best of all, Nishikata-kun still can’t bring himself to say it about any of the swimsuits she tries on.
The tour de force for Takagi, though, is getting herself “invited” to Nishikata’s house to do homework. It’s a ploy in the most fundamental sense of course – the siren’s song if copied homework isn pretty much a bait-and-switch. But if a swimsuit shop was bad, a boy’s room is worse – potentially the ultimate embarrassment. Fortunately for Nishikata he doesn’t seem to be as rough around the edges as he might be – the room is fairly tidy and there are no porn mags (if a shoujo manga is the most embarrassing publication a girl finds in your room, that’s a win) or dirty underwear in plain sight. Takagi-san makes a very revealing statement – the room is “sugoku Nishikata-poi”. And while being Takagi-san she can’t come right out and say it’s a compliment, she does allow that she “likes it”.
For most manipulative 7th-grade girls having achieved invaluable recon and embarrassment points by seeing a guy’s bedroom would be enough, this is the alien Takagi-san we’re talking about, so she ups the ante one more time by suggesting they use Nishikdata’s bed as a desk. Poor Nishikata – this would be too much for almost any young lad, and he’s certainly no exception. The eraser thing is the coup de grace, the icing on the cake – and while by all appearances it seems to have been an accident, with Takagi-san involved… Can we really be sure?
Mayuf
February 19, 2018 at 7:10 pmAnimene apik pisan ya, aku seneng 😀
sonicsenryaku
February 20, 2018 at 2:30 amOh takagi; you truly are a cruel mistress. This is the time in a male adolescent’s life where their experiences with romantic situations like the ones in this ep these will determine what kind of confidence he may have going forward (same can be said for females but you, societal stereotypes and all that). The way in which Takagi sort of relishes in playing with Nishikata distress in these romantic situations had me feeling for the guy (in a good way tho). This is a boy who is clearly overwhelmed with the anxiety of not being able to have the confidence to make defined choices in romantic/sensually charged situations and a girl who is pushing his buttons into getting him to be proactive (and because she likes fucking with him); it’s a difficult feeling to contend with but one that i think this episode handled very well. We’ve reached the point where the teasing is about to go full-on sensual. We’ve entered an entirely different battlefield where the wounds here will be far greater than a chalk to the head if not handled delicately i.e. first love can be wonderful but can also be a bitch
Seeing as both Takagi and Nishikata read and watch 100% unrequited love, it can be said that while Nishikata looks at the series as a template of what he wish he could be , Takagi may look at the series for what she wants Nishikata to be; that is she may surprisingly see herself as the female who is shy about her feelings and may actually relate to the female protagonist. Rather than be completely direct about her feelings, Takagi finds coyful ways to get closer to Nishikata in the hopes that maybe the boy that she likes could be a bit more assertive about his feelings the way the male protagonist does. That might be a “looking in too deep sort of interpretation but there are breadcrumbs that point to that being the case. A more direct reading would be that Takagi likes the manga/anime because she finds it romantic that the guy constantly teases the girl he likes while trying to make advances on her in the hopes that he can steal her heart. Takagi sees herself as the male protag, making his way into Nishikata’s heart while staying dominant within the relationship because the series makes her feel like that’s the exciting doki-doki romance she’d like to have. Nishikata is a pretty docile kid (no real level of threat; imagine if Takagi was trying to get the intention of a guy who was a little “too curious” about what it’s like to be intimate with the opposite sex?) so he’s the right level of tame that facilitates easy teasing and infatuation. Though as i already said, i think Takagi genuinely likes him.
Going back to what i mentioned previous eps ago, this story really does feel like it’s written from the perspective of someone who wants us as the viewer to understand the anxiety he/she felt at that age while conveying a sense of happy reflection. Particularly with the female bathing suit store, we are supposed to have enough adult cognition to be like: “Hell yea i’d have loved to be in that situation” while simultaneously saying, “But if i was a bashful kid like Nishikata; hell, even if i wasn’t like him, I’d probably not want to be him in that moment.” Again, I felt for Nishikata this ep because the poor boy was about to explode with embarrassment what from going from being asked by a girl to come into a bathing suit store for the sake of judging her outfit, to bringing said girl to your room for the first time…… WHEW!!! (gosh, i can remember the surreal, ethereal feeling that overwhelmed me the first time i had a girl in my room). That’s probably what makes the adolescent anxiety worse: he wants to be that cool guy but knows that just isn’t him. To Nishikata, these are situations that only existed in the manga and anime he digests; and like you already said, it’s easy to indulge in escapism with fiction. Sure wish i had a Takagi when i was younger to push me out of my comfort zone; Nishikata needs it.
Guardian Enzo
February 20, 2018 at 8:29 amMy feelings with this series are full of contradiction, no doubt about it. That’s one of the things that’s so compelling about it, for sure.
One other possibility with Takagi and 100% Unrequited Love – maybe she follows it because she knows Nishikata likes it. And she’s using it to try and understand him better so she knows how to push his buttons better (if that were possible). Research, in other words. Not saying your interpretation is wrong, but it does feel like a bit of a reach to me. I honestly don’t see Takagi-san fantasizing herself as the docile one in the relationship, but I could be wrong.
sonicsenryaku
February 20, 2018 at 12:12 pmThe show had given me the impression that Takagi was already a follower of 100% unrequited love before she knew Nishikata was part of the fandom. I mean she could be paying attention to the content of the series now more than ever since she knows Nishikata is really into it, but i can’t help but think that she herself identifies with one of the characters in the show (heck or maybe a combination of both).
justfun
February 20, 2018 at 3:41 amI was really annoyed with this swimsuit episode. While I like the romantic angle of the show, the otaku pandering was too much this time: The sexualization of “cute” junior highschool girls, lingering camerashots, a dominating girl leading a timid and awkward boy into romance, the obvious difference to real school experiences.
Its too bad there is also no character development. After months of experiencing Takagi’s teasing, Nishikata should be able to parry a little bit better. At least the show is more humorous about itself with the recurring shoujo manga gag.
sonicsenryaku
February 20, 2018 at 4:56 amSexualization? I hardly if ever got that feeling from any of the shots in this episode. Nishikata’s gaze is emphasized of course in order to convey to us, the viewer how he perceives Takagi but the actual shot composition never frames her or the three girls as an objects of lust. Any sex appeal that might be construed is mostly removed by the artstyle and the lack of shots devised to purposely lead our gaze to areas of these girl’s bodies is non-existence. I never thought for a moment the show was pandering to me or trying to elicit that sort of reaction at all. I’m surprised you actually felt that way
Guardian Enzo
February 20, 2018 at 8:32 amI agree with Sonic on this, in the main. Obviously sensuality is a big part of this premise, so it can’t be avoided as a theme. But compared to a lot of anime I don’t see the girls as being fetishized physically all that much. I actually thought the swimsuit scenes were handled with relative restraint.
justfun
February 20, 2018 at 10:51 amI find the very idea of Takagi showing off in a swimsuit problematic. The show does in no way portray realistic behaviour of kids of that age, so every skit is artificial. At the same time many of the episodes focus on things related to sexuality, like seeing Takagi’s pants when she makes a flip, her shirt in the rain, her trying out swimsuits. That does not happen to kids on a daily basis, so the creators had an image of their audience in mind when they opted for these scenes and connotations.
Wondering if I am too wary, I even skimmed through all episodes just now. There are many of the typical anime “male gaze” shots focussing on Takagi’s chest or panning from her bottom to her chest. That’s a focus you rarely have on male characters. Sure, we are talking anime here and other shows are worse. But this series is walking a thin line not to be one of these other shows, and in my opinion it failed in this episode.
(Maybe I’m just too impressed by this season’s Mitsuboshi Colours that’s not only able to realistically portray the behaviour of kids, but also portrays its cast as cute without any sexualization. That’s something not many anime are able to do.)
sonicsenryaku
February 20, 2018 at 12:03 pm“That does not happen to kids on a daily basis, so the creators had an image of their audience in mind when they opted for these scenes and connotations.”
This is absolutely not true; most people who are actually around kids/adolescents can attest to that.
“There are many of the typical anime “male gaze” shots focussing on Takagi’s chest or panning from her bottom to her chest”
I really think you’re conflating these things and making something out of nothing. The idea that the camera pans across Takagi doesn’t mean it’s leering. I’m sorry but I’m really lost as to how you’re even drawing these conclusions. But hey, different strokes for different folks I guess.
justfun
February 21, 2018 at 3:24 am@sonicsenryaku
If you have not seen these camera shots, perhaps you should watch again. It is pretty typical for anime to frame girls and women different than boys and focus on their bodies. And while this show is pretty harmless in comparison to other ones, it is no exception to this pattern.
And no, for a 12- or 13-year old girl with a character like Takagi (!) that is in no intimate relationship with a boy to show off her body is no normal behaviour in my world. And supposely even less in a conservative society like Japan. That’s a phantasy how teenagers could be, and your post above attests that there a viewers interested in this issue.
The show is a light-hearted and one-dimensional romantic comedy, but no depiction of teen adolescence. I want to enjoy it for that, and therefore I am annoyed when it moves too deep in patterns of other genres.
sonicsenryaku
February 21, 2018 at 3:38 am@Justfun As i already said, if that’s what you see, then okay; I just completely disagree with all of your observations, especially about the ones regarding 12/13 year old behavior.
ruicarlov
February 21, 2018 at 4:38 pmI’m with sonic here. If there’s anything with Takagi’s behaviour that I find abnormal for a 12-13 year old is just how she’s borderline psychic. Not her teasing Nishikata in the swimsuit shop, especially because she didn’t even expose herself at all to him. She just wanted Nishikata to think that, and that’s totally in character and not farfetched for some who loves teasing as much as she does. Pherhaps my exposure to anime might’ve made me become somewhat desensitized to male gaze shots and pans, because I didn’t even imagine someone could consider they were sexualizing Takagi in an otaku pandering way.